


Of Ice Cream, Poems and Photographs

by girlofthehollowforest



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-19
Updated: 2014-11-26
Packaged: 2018-02-13 19:29:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2162349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/girlofthehollowforest/pseuds/girlofthehollowforest
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren Yeager and Armin Arlert are both attending their second year at Trost University. One fateful encounter at a donut shop leads these two boys to becoming friends, and Eren finds himself immediately smitten with the blonde headed boy who gives him a ride home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I'd Rather Talk to Cute Blondes Than Dance Anyways

         “Shit.” Eren mumbled as he grasped at his pockets.

 

        “What’s wrong now, Eren?” Mikasa asked, a tinge of annoyance in her voice. Her step-brother was one of her closest friends but was also incredibly skilled at pissing her off.

 

        “I think I left my phone in the car.” Eren said.

 

        “What, you mean the taxi?” Mikasa rolled her eyes, “Come on let’s see if he’s still out there—“

 

        “Nah. S’okay. I’ll go. I know how badly you wanted to come to this thing.” Eren said with a small smile.

 

         Mikasa blushed, “No, I…” Even if it was true she didn’t really like him voicing that fact.

 

        “Besides, I’m pretty sure that asshole roommate of mine is making his way over here to talk to you. And it’s a bit more amusing if I’m not here to introduce you two.” At that, Eren quickly exited the scene looking for a payphone. But weren’t these things pretty much ancient these days?

 

Fuck.

 

~

 

         Eren walked away from the banquet hall, where the dance was being held. In his opinion he thought dances were a tacky waste of time. But some of the university fees paid go towards events like this, so it made sense to take advantage of the opportunity- mostly the food and drinks though.

 

         He figured there weren’t very many cons, as Mikasa also wanted to attend. Why? Who knows. Mikasa was never really good at sharing her feelings.  Maybe to meet new friends? Eren was rather content with the friends he had befriended last year during freshmen year. Once he was about a block away, he felt a sudden vibration in his back pocket. “Christ…” Eren muttered, picking up the phone- it was a message from his mother. He figured he’d check it out later. He had his phone the whole time. He had an array of words he wanted to scream at the sky, but for now he had to get back to the party. He wondered if his roommate had actually spoken to Mikasa or if he had wimped out.

 

         When Eren eventually made his way back to the party, he learned right away that there was no re-entry allowed. He cursed and yelled at the bouncer- who was his friend Connie. Connie just laughed at his idiocy and told him he better find something else to do on his Friday night.

 

**Today** 8:32 PM

 

 _Eren said_ ,

Found phone, no re-entry allowed. Probs gonna grab a coffee and head home.

 

 

            Mikasa didn’t answer and Eren shrugged. He hailed a cab and soon he was at Laurel’s Donuts. He looked overdressed to be there with his white dress shirt with a simple loose fitting tie and black slacks, but he could care less. Laurel’s Donuts was packed. When he finally got his coffee he looked for a place to sit and saw a free seat opposite a blonde-headed person who had his head ducked as he typed on his laptop.

 

            “Hey.” Eren said.

 

            No answer.

 

            “Hey.” He took his tone up a notch. Then he was met with blue eyes, “Hello.” The blonde boy replied.

_He’s cute_ , Eren thought.

           

            “Uh… is anyone sitting here?” He’d go back to the dorm but had spent the last of his money on a taxi here and a coffee. That hadn’t been entirely smart of him. He figured when Mikasa got back, she could be there waiting when the cab arrived at their dorm with the money- but most taxi drivers in this area knew better than to trust Eren Jaeger. It wouldn’t be the first time he had forgotten cash.

 

            “Oh, yeah. I mean, no- no one’s siting there. So, yes go ahead.” The blonde closed his laptop as Eren sat and he noticed he had a sticker on his laptop that read, “Trost U”.

 

            “You go to Trost?” Eren asked.

 

            “Uh, yeah. Majoring in journalism and minoring in photography.”

 

            “I go there too. I’m majoring in business.” Eren explained.

 

            The blonde nodded as he took a bite from an original glazed donut.

 

            “I’m Eren by the way.” Eren said with a half grin.

 

            “I’m Armin. It’s a pleasure to meet you.  I’m surprised I’ve never seen you around campus.” Armin. Eren liked the way it sounded and wanted to say it himself. To feel the name as it left his lips.

 

            “Likewise. So why are you here instead of at the dance? A great chunk of our tuition fee goes towards it.” Eren muttered bitterly.

 

            Armin seemed uncomfortable with the question as he shook his bangs out of his face. As Armin glanced outside at the street, Eren realized that Armin’s hair was tied back in a ponytail. “Um. I was. But I got a little held up. How come you aren’t there?” he countered.

 

            “I was, I left and found out there was no re-entry when I tired to get back in.” Eren let out a dry laugh.

 

            Armin nodded, clearly wanting to change the topic as he didn’t mention the dance any further. “So, how long have you been at Trost?” he asked.

 

            "This is my second year.” Eren answered brightly as he took a sip of his coffee.

 

            “Mine too. Do you live on campus?” Armin asked.

 

            “Yeah. The Maria building, second floor. It’s hell and my roommate is an asshole. I swear that’s a house filled with idiots.” Eren then winced at his own words. What if Armin was a resident of that building?

 

            “Thank god I commute then.” Armin said with a small smile, meeting Eren’s eyes.

            Eren found his eyes playful and amusing. Most of all, he couldn’t get over how goddamn blue they were.

 

            Armin then continued, “I live with my grandfather. It’s like a ten minute drive from Trost.”

 

            “Lucky bastard.” Eren muttered with a smile.

 

            Armin looked a tad surprised at Eren’s word choice.

 

            “My sister says I have the mouth of a sailor. Probably should have warned you.” Eren explained.

 

            At this, Armin smiled. “Maybe I’ll pick up a few words from you if your vocabulary is really as colourful as you say.”

 

            Eren feigned offense, “You think I’m lying.” he accused.

           

            Armin shrugged at the accusation. Eren’s jaw dropped jokingly and Armin just laughed.

 

~

 

            Eren wasn’t sure when the crowd had dispursed because he was too busy trying to figure out what shade of blue Armin’s eyes were.

 

            “Oh, wow. It’s 11PM.” Armin said glancing at his watch.

 

            “Shit. We’ve been talking for hours. I hope I didn’t keep you out too late. Don’t want your grandfather to come after me.” he joked.

 

            Armin laughed, “He’s already asleep and he knows I’m a good kid.”

 

            “Damn, I wish you hadn’t said that. Now I’m gonna feel guilty for being a bad influence on you.” Eren said.

 

            Armin chuckled while Eren’s phone chimed. It was Mikasa.

 

 **Today** 11:03PM

 

_Mikasa said,_

I’m so sorry, Eren. My cell died, but thankfully Jean had a charger. I’m back at the dorms. I assumed you’d be here but I guess not. Are you all right? Text back, ASAP.

 

_Eren said,_

I’m fine. Just didn’t have cab fare, so I hung out at a donut place.

 

_Mikasa said,_

I could call a cab for you if you want.

                                                           

   **Today** 11:04PM

_Mikasa said,_

We should really get a goddamn car.

 

            “Eren?” Armin questioned.

 

            “Oh, sorry about that. I was just reading a text.” Eren said, gesturing towards the phone.

 

            “Girlfriend? You were smiling like someone dropped a basket of kittens on your doorstep.” Armin said.

 

            Eren laughed at this. “I’m more of a dog person actually. And no, that was my sister. Haven’t got a girlfriend. But I’m sure Mikasa bothers me more than a girlfriend ever would. She means well though.”

 

            “You and her must be pretty close, huh?” Armin asked.

            “Yeah. She’s my stepsister, but we’re probably closer than most blood siblings. Anyways, I should probably get back to the dorm. I have weight training tomorrow.” Ok- that sounded kind of douche-y, Eren quickly realized this and regretted saying it as soon as the words left his mouth.

 

             “I’ll head out too.” Armin stated. “Where’d you park?”

 

            “Oh, I took a taxi here. Mikasa said she’d call one for me.” Eren explained, omitting the fact that he had no money left on him. He had had barely enough change to buy a coffee here.

 

            “Um, I could drive you instead. Like I said my grandfather’s place isn’t too far from the school.” When Armin stood, it was like Eren was seeing him for the first time again. He noticed what he was wearing- a white polo shirt with some khakis and white converse. He was putting all his stuff into his messenger bag. When Armin finally stood up straight, the height difference between the two became obvious. Armin was maybe 5’4, 5’5 at the most. Eren was 5’9 so he stood rather taller than him, but he didn’t care. He still found Armin incredibly attractive.

 

            “Are you sure? I don’t want to make you go out of your way or anything.” Eren said, once he could finally speak again.

 

            “No, it’s fine with me. Really.” Armin insisted.

 

            “I owe you… Seriously. Thanks, Armin.”

 

            Armin just gave him a small smile and lead him to his car. It was a red fiat. Eren smiled, for some reason this car seemed to suit Armin perfectly.

 

            Armin unlocked it and got behind the wheel while Eren got into the passenger’s side.

 

            “Hey, you might want to call your sister.” Armin said as he started the car.

 

            “Right. Yeah.” Eren agreed as he took out his cell.

 

            “Eren, hey.” Mikasa answered on the third ring. “Should I call the taxi?” she asked.

 

            “No, it’s fine. My friend’s giving me a ride.”

 

            Mikasa was skeptical but decided to save her questions for later. “That’s great. Text me once you’re here. Be safe.”

 

            After he hung up, he turned to Armin, “Thanks for reminding me.”

 

            “Don’t worry about it.” Armin smiled.

 

            “This evening was definitely not what I expected.” Eren said as he began to stretch his arms, his white dress shirt straining against his lean muscles, “It was better.”

 

            “Well, I’m glad to hear that.” Armin chuckled, “Just call me up the next time you leave a party with no re-entry.”

 

            “Teasing me already…” Eren said, “Wow, this friendship is on the right track.” He grinned.

 

            “I think so.” Armin agreed.

 

            Armin was fucking gorgeous. He was also studious and funny. If only Eren’s gaydar actually worked, maybe he could tell just what Armin was into. 

            They were quickly approaching Eren’s residence- he needed to come up with a sly way to get Armin’s number.

 

            “Thanks for the ride, Armin.” Eren said, as he got out of the car. 

 

            “It really wasn’t a problem, so don’t mention it.” Armin insisted, but Eren shook his head.

 

            “I’m in debt to you.” Eren said with sincerity, a teasing grin played on his lips.

 

            “Well, if you insist.” Armin shrugged with a small smile. “I’ll see you around, Eren.” Then Armin paused as Eren was just about to turn away from the car. “Can I see your cell?” he asked.

 

            Eren handed his cell over to Armin and he quickly tapped the keys and then returned it.

 

            “So you can repay your debt,” Armin said.

 

            Eren nodded, “Alright.”

 

            The two waved their goodbyes and Eren headed up the steps to his residence. He unlocked his phone and at the very beginning of his contact list was Armin Arlert. 


	2. Ice Cream with a Blondie

Eren was sitting on his bed, finishing up some studying when Jean got home. It had been two days since the Friday night dance and it was now Monday.

Munching loudly on a bag of chips, Jean entered their room. “Hey Jeager. I’ve got someone coming over later so—“

“I was actually just leaving, can you chew any louder? Fuck.” Eren interrupted as he began to throw all his stuff into his backpack. He slung it on his shoulder and left as Jean simply shrugged.

As Eren stood in the middle of the hallway he contemplated where to go. He hadn’t actually planned on leaving, but if he had to hear Jean crunch another chip he swear he would blow a fuse.

He could go hang out in the library. Or…

**Today** 2:01

_Eren said_ ,  
You wouldn’t happen to still be on campus would you?

 

_Armin said,_

Just finished my b/w photog class actually, why what’s up?

 

_Eren said,_

Wanna get some ice cream? I know a good place.

 

_Armin said,  
_ Yes.

 

                                                _Eren said,_

Well that was easy.

 

_Armin said,_

Who turns down ice cream?

 

            _Eren said,_

Fair point. Where should I meet you?

 

_Armin said,_

I’m near the Rose Building. You know the one near the school entrance.

 

_Eren said,_

Got it. C u soon.

 

~

 

“My roommate is an obnoxious asshole.” Eren declared upon arriving at their rendezvous point.

 

“Hello to you too. I’m doing fine, thanks.” Armin said. He looked cuter than he had the last time he’d seen him. His blonde hair was tied back again, but Armin looked way more casual. Then again, he had said that he was going to attend the party, so maybe he had just dressed up for that?

 

He was wearing a green t-shirt with a grey jacket and a dark wash straight-legged pair of jeans. He looked really… relaxed.

 

Eren was sporting a tight fitting black t-shirt with grey sweatpants that had the school’s logo, and some black converse. Armin had swapped his white converse from the other day for a navy blue pair.

 

“So, where is this ice cream?” Armin asked, looking up at Eren.

 

“It’s like a ten minute walk from here.” Eren explained.

 

“Cool, let’s go.” Eren was about to ask Armin what flavor he planned to get, but his phone had rung. Armin fished his cell out of his messenger bag and answered it.

 

Armin suddenly started speaking in a different language after his initial “Hello?” His accent was beautiful even though Eren couldn’t seem to place which one it was.

 

“ _Au revoir_.” Armin said then let out a sigh. “Sorry, that was my grandfather. He doesn’t speak much English.”

 

“What language was that?” Eren asked.

 

“Oh, French.”

 

Eren eyed Armin from the corner of his eye and smiled.

 

“He was pretty much saying that he’s going to give me some cash to replace my clothes. He bleached a load of laundry so most of my clothes look like crap.” Armin explained.

 

“Ah, I thought you looked preppier the day we had met.” Eren said with a grin.

 

“As did you, although you did mention something about weight training, musclehead.”

 

Eren laughed aloud. He was glad he had played it cool and hadn’t called Armin back immediately after their initial meeting. But the last two days had been agonizing, as he thought about what Armin was up to and worried that Armin would forget about him if he waited too long to make plans to see him again.

 

“Don’t get started with nicknames or else I’ll have to give you one.” Eren threatened.

 

Armin shrugged, “Try me.”

 

“Blondie.” It suited him. Armin was the prettiest, blondest bastard he knew.

 

“Wow, Eren That’s an F. How generic is _that_?” Armin said with a laugh.

 

“Oh, and yours wasn’t?” Eren countered.

 

“But, Blondie? Really?” Armin said in disbelief.

 

“Armin, you are aware of how blonde you are right?” Eren confirmed.

 

“I am rather aware.”

 

“Is that blonde from a bottle?”

 

“Nope. I’m a natural ‘lil blondie.”

 

“I knew the name would catch on quick.”

 

“Shush, musclehead.”

 

~

 

“There’s a deal… an extra scoop when you buy a waffle cone…” Armin observed.

 

Eren laughed, “If I eat two scoops…”

 

“You aren’t one of those buff guys who never indulges in any kind of junk are you? Remember- you invited me! Plus, when I go out to eat I always order dessert that I can never finish, so that might be a problem in the future.” Armin said.

 

Eren noticed he spoke as if he’d like to do something like this again. That was a positive sign he thought.

 

Eren’s brow’s furrowed, and he shook his head, “What? No- if I eat two scoops they have to each be a different flavor.” Eren finished.

 

“Why is that?” Armin questioned.

 

“I’m trying to eat a scoop of each flavor from this shop.” Eren declared.

 

Armin beamed. “That’s ambitious. How many have you tried so far?”

 

Eren contemplated this, “Five so far. Cookie dough is really good so sometimes instead of trying a new flavor I get it instead.”

 

“Well, I guess you have a head start. You’re five flavors ahead of me.” Armin said glancing at the overwhelming amount of flavors.

 

“Okay, I’m getting one scoop of mint chocolate chip and one scoop of butter pecan in a waffle cone.” Eren told the woman behind the counter. She smiled as she began to scoop the ice cream.

 

“And for you, hun?” she asked Armin after Eren had happily received his ice cream.

 

“One scoop of French vanilla and one scoop of cookie dough in a waffle cone please.” Armin said.

 

After they paid they left the ice cream shop and in between licks of his ice cream Armin began to speak, “You said something about your roommate being an asshole earlier. I think you even said that the day we met as well.”

 

“Huh?” Eren said. “Oh right, yeah. I don’t know. We both rub each other the wrong way, and it doesn’t help that we both made a pretty bad first impression on each other. We’ve been arguing since the day we met.” He shrugged, Jean and him fighting had become pretty much routine. The days they didn’t argue were great, but weird.

 

“Sorry to hear that.” Armin amended.

 

“Nah, it’s okay. It’s not a big deal. We’re used to annoying the hell out of each other at this point.” Eren said with a small laugh.

 

As they walked in silence, Eren tried to think of what to say.

  
Once they had both paid, the two walked back to campus.

 

“Nice ice cream choices by the way.” Eren said.

 

“Hm?” Armin mumbled through a lick of ice cream. “Well, I figured I should go through the basic flavours and make my way up from there.”

 

“You did not just call cookie dough basic.” Eren said looking at the shorter boy.

 

“Not so much basic as it is generic.” Armin explained.

 

“I didn’t know ice cream could be generic.” Eren teased.

 

“Hey, you might want to be nice to me. I was going to offer you some of my cookie dough.”

 

Eren’s jaw dropped, “You little…I mean- Armin. Yes. Like I was saying, splendid ice cream choice. And I’m really liking the strategy you have planned as well.”

 

“Thanks, Eren!” Armin exclaimed. He stopped walking and held his ice cream out to Eren.

 

“Switch?” Eren asked holding out his as well.

 

After they had tried each other’s ice cream, they returned their respective cones to the other.

 

“Okay question. Does it have to be a whole scoop or just a bite?” Armin asked.

 

“Dunno. Never really thought about that.”

 

“If we say a whole scoop, then I’ve tried two flavours and you’ve tried seven. If NOT- then I’ve tried four and you’ve tried nine… Either way you still have five scoops on me…” Armin contemplated.

 

“Let’s do whole scoops. Seven is less than nine, so we’ll just go with that. You’ll catch up eventually I’m sure.” Eren said with a shrug and a smile.

 

Armin grinned, “Yeah, I will.” Eren could of sworn he saw some mischief in those blue eyes of his.

 

By the time they’d reached campus they had finished their ice cream.

 

“I better get home.” Armin said. “Thanks for inviting me.”

 

“Uh, hey, did you want me to uh… walk you to your car?”

That was the gentlemanly thing to do right?  


Armin looked a bit surprised at the offer and then nodded. Armin got a little shifty while they walked to the parking lot. He barely spoke. Once they got there Armin insisted that he would drop Eren at his residence.

 

“I hate Lot F. I was in Lot C last year but I didn’t get my pay check in time so by the time I had the money the permits for Lot C were all sold out.” Armin explained as he started up the car.

 

“That sucks, sorry Armin.” Eren felt really bad for him. He could hear how upset he was in just the tone of his voice.

 

Once they got there Eren got out and leaned through the drivers window so he could look at Armin’s face.

 

“Hey, um- text me when you get home. Just so I know you’re safe.”

 

“Okay.” Armin nodded.

 

**Today** 5:31

 

_Armin said,_

I’m home and well. Thank you.

 

                                    _Eren said_ ,

Glad to hear it.


	3. Eren The Super Hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armin meets Mikasa.   
> Eren becomes a Super Hero.

What a preppy little fuck.

Was Eren’s immediate thought the next time he saw Armin. His hair, of course was tied back again. All Eren wanted to do was take that stupid hair tie out and run his fingers through the blonde strands of hair. 

His outfit consisted of a long sleeved polo shirt and a sweater vest- Eren had to look away before Armin caught him staring. Eren was much more casual with his v-neck and jeans. 

They were in his dorm room, and Eren had invited him over after they had got into a discussion over text about how Armin had never watched The Avengers.

“Well I’ve seen Iron Man. All three actually.” Armin said proudly.

“You’ll be eating your words after this, I swear…” Eren said as he put the movie in the blu-ray player. Armin was standing a little awkwardly and Eren smiled fondly at him. “You can sit down you know.”

“Oh… okay, thanks.” Armin said, taking a seat on Eren’s bed. 

He was sitting on his fucking bed. Armin Arlert, the gorgeous blonde he had met a week ago was sitting on his bed. Eren went and took a seat in his desk chair and spun around to face the TV.

They were half way through the film when Mikasa came in, using the spare key that she had insisted Eren give her in case of emergencies. 

Eren quickly paused it and stood immediately, going over to Mikasa, “Hey, what happened?”

He knew she was supposed to be out with the rest of their friends today- Ymir, Christa, Jean, Marco… 

“I was just having a bad night. Decided to come home early...I didn’t want to be alone.” She said softly, as she took off her shoes placing them near the door. “I’ll leave before Jean gets back, but…”

Eren rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, and raised an eyebrow at Mikasa. She wasn’t telling him the whole story, yet also as equally important there was a blonde bombshell sitting on his bed. For lack of better phrasing, or more polite phrasing, Eren did not want to deal with this right now. 

But he knew he had to. “Yeah, take a seat.”

That’s when Mikasa noticed the blonde boy sitting on Eren’s bed.  
“Oh, I didn’t know you had someone over, I can-“

“It’s fine, just sit.” Eren returned to his seat at his desk and he gestured to Mikasa. “This is my infamous step sister, Mikasa. Mikasa, this is Armin.”

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you, Armin.” Mikasa said softly

“Hi.” Armin said with a smile. “Eren has told me a lot about you.”

“Oh?” He hasn’t mentioned you once. Mikasa raised her brows at Eren, but he was too busy looking at Armin.

“So, uh we were just watching The Avengers.” Eren said.

Mikasa rolled her eyes, “I’ve seen it 30 times, and 29 of those times were with you.” 

“So you weren’t kidding when you said it was your favourite movie.” Armin hummed.

“I don’t lie about my super heroes.” Eren said honestly.

Eren resumed the film and Mikasa watched The Avengers for the 31st time.

“I should head home.” Armin said, checking his watch. Even though it was a Friday night, he still had things he needed to do tomorrow.

“Are you sure? It’s like midnight, if Jean isn’t home by now, he probably won’t be home until the morning.” Eren said lazily, stretching. 

Mikasa had dozed off on Eren’s bed and Armin and Eren were sitting on the floor in front of the television, having just finished the second Captain America film. 

“Yeah, but I usually head home to my parents house on the weekends. So I should probably go to Grandpa and let him know I’m alive or something.” Armin said with a small smile.

At this Eren’s eyes widened a little, he thought Armin’s parents must have passed or something, considering that he never mentioned them and that he lived at his Grandpa’s house. 

“What?” Armin asked softly.

“I thought… I mean… god, this isn’t going to sound good no matter which way I phrase it. I didn’t know that you had parents.” Eren mumbled.

Armin looked off to the side and chuckled. “I don’t always mention it do I?” it sounded more like he was saying it to himself than to Eren.

“Well, I do have parents.” Armin said, and he had turned to look up at Eren again. Eren’s hands that had been comfortably rested behind his head and having the bed supporting him returned to his sides as he looked at Armin’s face, his cheeks were a light pink right now, maybe because he was tired or because of him never mentioning his parents to the point that Eren didn’t know he had any.

If he could just… just lean down and press his lips to his… he would never ask for another thing ever.

Even that new Pokemon game coming out soon. He would cancel his pre-order if it guaranteed getting to kiss those lips at least once.

“Um, Armin?” Eren asked timidly.

“Yeah?” he said quietly.

Eren couldn’t do it. He couldn’t ask him if he could kiss him, he couldn’t ask him if he liked him, so instead he blurted out, “Did you want me to walk you to your car?” he asked.

And once again, Armin nodded.

 

After walking to the parking lot where Armin was parked, Armin offered to drop Eren back to the campus but Eren insisted that it was fine. He wanted to go for a walk, think- try to figure out what was with this mess of emotions he kept feeling. He waved to Armin as he drove away, much after they had argued for a bit about Armin not being comfortable with Eren just strolling about this late at night.

Eventually Eren had won, but of course Armin made him promise to text him once he got back to his dorm.

Once Eren got home, Mikasa was still in his bed so he opted for the bean bag chair that had been hidden in the closet as to keep it away from Jean.

He quickly sent off his a text to Armin letting him know he was safe in his dorm, and Armin replied a few minutes later letting Eren also know that he had just gotten home safely as well and was heading to bed.

~

The next morning, Eren woke up groggily. He grabbed some clothes, a towel, and other things he needed and then took a shower. Once he was dressed, teeth brushed and all he decided he might go get some breakfast at the café.

That’s when he realized- Mikasa was still here. In Jean’s bed. With Jean.

“What the fuck?” Eren shouted. 

“Hey, what the hell!?” Eren said louder when they didn’t wake up.

Jean stirred and waved his free arm at the air, as if to swat the noise away.

He had one arm draped across the pillow and Mikasa was resting on said arm. He then returned his other arm to rest over her torso.

Eren almost gagged.

“When were you two planning on telling me about this?” Eren asked.

Mikasa stirred then and narrowed her eyes as if trying to remember her whereabouts. “Eren, for god’s sake please calm down… it’s so early.”

 

“Mikasa, you’re dating Jean?” Mikasa sat up then, and a dejected Jean rubbed his eyes as she broke contact.

“I… we’re…” Mikasa tried to figure out what they were exactly.

“Who the hell knows, Jeager? We’re trying to figure things out, all right?” Jean snapped.

“When were you ever going to share this with me?” Eren asked Mikasa, feeling a little hurt and left out.

“When were you going to tell me about Armin?” she snapped back.

As if on cue, Eren’s phone rang. He fished it out of his pocket and if it had been anyone else he probably would have ignored the call, but the display read “Armin Arlert” with a little yellow heart emoji that Eren had added for good measure.

“Hey.” Eren said, putting his phone to his ear.

“Eren. Thank god you answered.” Armin mumbled.

He didn’t sound right, he was…. groaning? Was he all right?

“Hey, you don’t sound too good.”

“Yeah, um… about that. Could you come get me? I know you don’t have a car so you’ll probably have to walk, but can you come quick?” Armin said lowly.

“Yeah, of course. Where are you?”

“That ice cream shop you took me to before.” Armin said.

“Armin, you didn’t…” Eren said.

There was a small chuckle from Armin and then he hung up. 

“Listen, I have to go, maybe we’ll talk about this later.” Eren said, grabbing his jacket and his wallet.

The walk to the ice cream shop was a lot like last time in terms of time, but it was way less entertaining. Sure enough he saw Armin’s red fiat sitting in the parking lot. He went towards it and knocked on the window. Armin unlocked the door and Eren slid into the passengers side.

“How many scoops did you have?” Eren asked, looking at Armin who was holding his stomach now and had his head resting against the steering wheel. 

“Five.” Armin groaned.

“Armin…” Eren said and it was meant to sound chastising but instead it sounded fond. 

“I’m sorry to ask this of you, but um if you’re not doing anything or you’re not busy could you maybe drive me to my parent’s house? You have your license right?” Armin asked, as he looked up at Eren, still clutching his stomach. 

“Wait, do you have a stomachache or brain freeze?” Eren asked.

“Mostly brain freeze, but I feel so full- I think I might burst.” Armin said.

Eren had to hold back his laughter at this. “Why don’t I take you to your Grandpa’s and I’ll nurse you back to health?”

“As tempting as having you play nurse for me for the next hour or so sounds, I can’t. Last weekend I blew off seeing my parents so they’re pretty adamant that I come home this weekend. They didn’t even want me to go to Trost University, they wanted me to go to a university that’s closer to where we live.”

“Your parents sound a little over protective.” Eren mused.

“That’s because they are.” Armin agreed.

“Okay, I’ll drive you. But how will I get back home? I don’t expect you to drive me home after I’ve dropped you off.”

“You could spend the weekend with us.” Armin suggested. His cheeks tinting scarlet. 

“Oh… oh okay…” Eren said, feeling a little excited to spend the weekend with Armin. Usually Eren found himself a little anxious around parents, but if he got to spend time with Armin it was a small price to pay.

“Should I head home and pack a bag or-“ 

“I’m sorry, I have to be at my parents by noon. I’ve already put the address in the GPS. Don’t worry I have clothes you can borrow and an extra tooth brush and we can pick up whatever you need at a convenience store near my house. I’ll pay.” Armin said.

Before he could argue, Armin spoke again, “Thank you for doing this, Eren. You’re my hero.” He said with a small smirk. 

Eren shut his mouth, offering a wry smile in return. "Am I a better hero than Iron Man?" 

"Yes, but I think Captain America might have you tied for first place." Armin mused.

They switched seats, and then they were off.

~

About two hours later they were pulling into a rural town, where the houses were spaced so far apart, you would drive for miles without seeing one. 

“This is where you’re from huh?” Eren asked.

“Yeah.” Armin said drowsily. He had mentioned feeling better a few minutes ago, but they had mostly ridden in silence. Armin had slept most of the drive so Eren was just enjoying the scenery and imagining what this would be like under different circumstances. 

“Hey, what are your parents like?” Eren asked suddenly.

“Well… um… it might be better if you just meet them first.” Armin said hesitantly. 

“Are they like really strict or something?” Eren wondered.

“Well, sometimes, but… it’s… I trust you.” Armin said softly.

Eren was touched by Armin’s words- but why would he have to trust him to meet his parents?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is mostly a filler, more fun stuff will happen in the next chapter.  
> I wanted to get this out right away so sorry if there are errors. I'll edit it before the next chapter is out.


	4. Meet the Parents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren meets Armin's parents.

“Armin’s not supposed to be here until noon,” he mumbled, kissing along his husband’s jaw.

 

“Yes, and you haven’t even let me wipe down the countertop. Instead you’re trying to coax me into letting you fuck me on top of it.” Levi said with an eye roll.

 

“Come on, it wouldn’t be the first time we’ve done it here.” Erwin said breaking away from Levi’s jaw so he could look at him. To anyone else, Levi would appear downright pissed off. To Erwin, he just looked slightly annoyed, maybe a tad turned on.

 

“I promise after the weekend we can fuck in the kitchen like the heathens we are.” Levi compromised. Maybe the years of being with Erwin had worn him down to being slightly more lenient than he was before. Having a son with Erwin and the whole surrogate mother deal had made him even _more_ lenient. That was a given.

 

“Fine. I’ll hold you to that. Can I at least make out with you after you wipe the countertops then?” Erwin asked hopefully as he pulled away from Levi.

 

“Sounds like a deal.” Levi said, hopping off the counter and heading off to go get his cleaning supplies.

 

Levi heard the all too familiar ring of his cell phone when he was almost finished cleaning, but he already had his gloves on and was doing wonders to the counter. “Hey Erwin, could you-“

 

Erwin was putting the meal that they had bought (part because Erwin was too lazy too cook and part because Armin’s favourite meal was store bought panini’s already made) on the table when Levi called for him.

 

“Yeah, I got it, love.” Erwin said, quickly jogging back to the counter that Levi was attending to and took his phone out of his back pocket. Before answering he gave his backside a smack where the phone had been.

 

“Pervert.” Levi muttered, but he was smiling.

 

“Don’t act like you don’t love it.” Erwin said, as he pressed answer. “Hello?” Erwin said.

 

“Hi. Wait, I thought I called-“ Armin began, but was cut off.

  
“Yeah, you did. Your dad’s cleaning. What’s up? You’re still on your way here, right? You know how he feels about last minute cancellations.” Erwin chastised.

 

“No, he knows how _we_ feel.” Levi corrected as he finished up his scrubbing.

 

“Yeah, we.” Erwin agreed with a smile and an eye roll at his husband.

 

“Well, I just wanted to let you guys know I’m bringing a friend. I know you would be okay with it but I wasn’t sure about Papa.” Armin said softly.

 

“What? Of course, Armin.” Erwin said. “You know you can bring anyone over. We’ll see you soon. How far away are you?”

 

“Maybe five minutes? Not even…” Armin said.

 

“Okay. Bye, love you.”

 

Levi was washing his hands when Erwin finally finished the call. He began to wipe them off and turned to Erwin as he crossed his arms over his chest. “What was that all about?”

 

“Armin’s five minutes away. Wanted to let us know he was bringing a friend with him.” Erwin said.

 

“Oh. A friend or a _friend_?”

 

“He just said a friend, but who knows. I hope he’s living the college life.” Erwin said with a smile.

 

“ _The college life_?” Levi repeated, his expression was half disgust and half confusion.

 

Erwin could tell Levi was stressed out. He had been ever since Armin started at Trost and he couldn’t be around to take care of him and make sure that he was okay. They spoke on the phone every other day, but he was worried Armin was holding out on him. Was he telling him the truth when he said he was having fun? Did he enjoy his classes? Did he miss home? Did he miss his parents?

 

“Hey, quit stressing yourself out.” Erwin said softly, leaning down to kiss him on the cheek. “He’s coming home for the weekend like he always does.”

 

“What about last weekend? What if-“ Levi began, but was cut off by Erwin’s lips pressing against his.

 

“Is this your way of distracting me? You know for a fifty year old man, you have the hormones of a fifteen year old.” He mumbled.

 

“If I’m fifty, doesn’t that make you forty-seven?” Erwin asked, drawing away from his lips.

 

“Jesus, not yet.” Levi muttered. “I take it back. Just don’t call me old.”

 

“I didn’t call you old.”

 

Then there was a knock on the door.

 

“You go finish setting up the table for me, I’ll get it.” Erwin said.

 

“Like hell I’m finishing setting up the table, you know I only participate in cleaning the table before and after eating.” Levi said.

 

Levi and Erwin had a stare off for a moment before Levi started getting the drinks and putting them on the table as Erwin headed to the door.

 

 _Big blonde idiot._ Levi thought.

 

Erwin opened the door and sure enough there was his son, and beside him was a boy who was taller than him with chocolate brown hair and tanned skin. He was carrying Armin’s bag for him.

 

“Hi, dad. This is my friend, Eren. He’s spending the weekend with us. Eren, this is my dad, Erwin.” Armin said with a shy smile.

 

“It’s nice to meet you, sir.” Eren said holding out his hand so he could shake Erwin’s.

 

Erwin noted that Eren had a very strong grip. “It’s nice to meet you as well, Eren. Come in you two, lunch is just about ready.”

 

Armin looked increasingly nervous by the second, Eren noted as he stepped in after Armin did. The house was nice, and really clean. The walls were beige and the house seemed pretty roomy. If Eren had lived some place like this he would constantly be homesick.

 

“You can just leave my bag by the stairs there.” Armin said with a smile. “Thank you.”

 

Eren set it down against the wall near the stairs so no one would trip over it. As he followed Erwin and Armin into the kitchen, he saw a short dark haired man who was pouring iced tea into glasses.

 

“Eren, this is my father, Levi.” Armin said as Levi looked up.

 

Erwin took a seat at the table, waiting for the drama to unfold. It was very rare that Armin would tell someone that he had two fathers. He remembered the last girl he had brought here had yelled that they were going to burn in the fiery pits of hell, even Armin. Armin had been shocked, and Levi had to comfort him. Not everyone was as accepting as Armin was. Erwin had to go have a cigarette, laughing all the while at the fact that he had been told he was going to hell by a teenage girl.

You could see the brief surprise in Eren’s eyes, but it passed as quickly as it came and he went over to Levi so he could shake his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, sir.”

 

Levi nodded, “Eren.”

 

Levi wasn’t exactly the most pleasant person. Levi went and took a seat beside Erwin, while Eren and Armin sat on the opposite side of the table. Armin grinned, he was glad Eren was accepting and not a total ass hat like previous people he had introduced to his parents.

 

“Armin, how are you? How was the drive here?” Levi asked.

 

“Um, Eren drove.” Armin said with a small smile. “I slept most of the time…”

 

“Yeah, he got brain freeze from eating too much ice cream.” Eren said with a half smile.

 

“Eren!” Armin squeaked, and he playfully hit Eren on the arm.

 

Erwin laughed, “What was that some kind of frat initiation?”

 

“No… I just really wanted ice cream.” Armin mumbled.

 

Eren looked at his pink tinted cheeks and had to resist the urge to lean down and kiss him. He wasn’t dating him and he was also in front of his parents. What the fuck was he thinking? Not to mention that Levi looked like he was ready to pounce at any second.

 

“So, Eren- how do you know Armin?”

 

“We met at the dance. You know the dance they hold at the beginning of each year. Through mutual friends.” Armin said before Eren had the chance to answer.

 

“I asked Eren, but thanks Armin.” Levi said with an arched brow. He began to put salad on his plate and then took a sip of his iced tea. Erwin watched with a sort of distant amusement at the events transpiring at the table. He knew that Levi was going to go on a full assault of questions once he had eaten a little bit more.

 

They all ate in silence and then Levi asked Eren another question.

 

“What year are you in?”

 

“Oh, um I’m in my second year, like Armin.” He answered.

 

“Yeah… how old are you?” Levi questioned.

 

“I’m twenty.” Eren answered shyly. He didn’t even think that Armin had asked him how old he was. “I took a year off after graduating high school.” Eren explained.

 

“You know our Armin is eighteen.” Levi said, his attention turning to Armin.

 

Armin blushed, and Erwin interjected, “He skipped a year when he was younger, so.”

 

“Papa, stop. It’s a two year age difference, it’s not a big deal.” Armin announced a little defensively. Suddenly Armin grabbed Eren’s hand from underneath the table, as if to give him the strength he needed to speak up.

 

Eren turned to look at Armin, but Armin wouldn’t meet his eyes, instead his face just turned red.

 

“Yeah, we shouldn’t bother him about his boyfriend, Levi. That’s his business.” Erwin said to Levi.

 

Neither Eren or Armin decided to correct Erwin and continued to hold hands under the table.

 

The rest of lunch was quiet and actually enjoyable. Eren enjoyed having food in an actual home instead of going to some fast food place like he usually would back on campus. Armin was happy to be around people he cared about and to have a break from the classroom walls.

 

They had moved to the living room after lunch and Erwin was sitting on his recliner, Levi was sitting on one couch while Eren sat on the other one opposite him. Armin had quickly run upstairs to put his bag in his room and said he’d be back in a minute.

 

“If you hurt my son, I’ll kill you.” Levi said.

 

“There it is.” Erwin said after, as if he had been waiting for Levi’s threat.

 

“Sir… Sirs… um, I’d never.” Eren said. “I really like your son.”

 

“It’s alright, Eren. Don’t let Levi scare you. You seem like a nice young man.” Erwin said, looking at Eren. “Levi’s trust just has to be earned is all.”

 

“Well, I’ll do my best to earn it.” Eren said with a nod. Levi had to admit he was slightly impressed with his response. Slightly.

 

 When Armin got into the living room, he took a seat beside Eren.

 

“Hey, can we watch a movie?” Armin asked, as he crossed his legs.

 

“Sure, what do you want to watch?” Erwin asked, reaching for the remote.

 

“Um, Thor 2.” Armin said blushing.

 

Eren smiled.

 

“Levi and I haven’t even seen the first one yet.” Erwin said, chuckling as he signed into Netflix.

 

“Okay, let’s watch the first one and then the second one. I don’t mind.” Armin suggested.

 

“What about you, Eren- Thor and Thor 2 all right with you?” Erwin asked.

 

“That’s more than all right with me, sir.” Eren grinned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this chapter! I tried to get it out ASAP because of the kind of cliff hanger I left on the last chapter...  
> Oh and if you were wondering about Erwin's and Levi's ages in this- Erwin is 44 and Levi is 41.  
> Rating on this fic also went from Teen + to Mature, just to be safe for now and for future chapters.  
> I also mentioned that Armin was conceived through surrogacy because I don't want anyone thinking he was conceived through mpreg or something.


	5. Opening Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren trusts Armin.

“Hey, um…” Armin began, once they reached his room. Armin was giving Eren a pair of pajamas he could borrow that were too big for him.

 

Before Eren could utter a “Thank you” Armin was thanking _him_.

 

“…About not telling my parents how we really met.” Armin said softly.

 

“Do they have something against meeting people in café’s?” Eren said with a small smile.

 

“No, but… they wanted me to go to the dance, but I didn’t go.” Armin mumbled.

 

“Why didn’t you go?” Eren asked.

 

“Well, I… I’ll tell you another time, okay?” Armin said.

 

“Okay.” Eren said, a little worried now. Armin must have noticed his expression because Armin reached for his hand and squeezed it.

 

“Everything’s fine.” He said with a smile. Then Armin quickly released his hand. “I’m sorry, I should stop doing that…”

 

“It doesn’t bother me.” Eren said softly.

 

“Um and I should have corrected my father when he called you my boyfriend.” Armin added.

 

Eren let out a small chuckle, “That doesn’t bother me either.”

 

At this, Armin’s eyes widened slightly and he nodded a little, as if to himself.

“I’m going to change into my pajamas and then wash up before bed.” Armin said, heading over to his dresser and pulling open a drawer.

 

Eren nodded and went near the corner of his room to change. He took off his shirt first and then began to undo his belt buckle.

 

Armin had just laid out his clothes on his bed, and was about to change but wanted to let Eren know he could go in the bathroom and change if he wanted to first. “Hey, Eren-“ Armin said turning to look, and Eren turned as well- his shirt off, pants unzipped and belt unbuckled.

 

“Oh- um… I… just wanted to let you know-“ Armin stared at Eren’s abs for a moment, feeling more and more flustered by the moment. He looked away, blushing heavily. “Nevermind!” Armin shouted, running past Eren and heading into his personal bathroom.

 

“Armin, I-“ Eren’s voice was drowned out by the sound of Armin shutting the bathroom door. Eren quickly pulled on the white shirt and striped pajama pants Armin had provided him with.

 

After waiting about three minutes, Eren knocked on the bathroom door. “Hey, Armin… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have started changing in your room.”

 

Armin opened the door for him and Eren came in.

 

“You don’t have to apologize.” Armin said with a weak smile. “I shouldn’t have stared at you like that… You just caught me a little off guard.”

 

“Sorry, I’m just used to changing in my dorm or room or whatever. I even change in front of my roommate.” Eren said with a nervous smile.

 

There was an awkward air about them for a moment or two and Eren silently prayed that he hadn’t ruined whatever Eren and Armin had going on.

 

“You really do workout, huh?” Armin said.

 

“I try to.” Eren said with a smile.

 

“It’s weird seeing you in a shirt like this.” Armin said, tugging at the neckline of the shirt. “You always wear v-necks.”

 

Eren laughed aloud,  “It’s weird seeing you in pajamas.” He countered.

 

“It’s weird seeing you with your shirt off.” Armin said with a teasing smile.

 

“Fine, you win.” Eren teased back. Then his cell phone rang. He heard Fall Out Boy’s “Alone Together” chorus and he got up immediately and went to Armin’s dresser where he had left it.

 

“Hello?” he answered. 

 

It was his mother and she was furious.

 

“Eren, your therapist told me you haven’t been to your anger management class at all this week. Remember our agreement? Eren?” she said sternly.

 

“Yah.” He mumbled. “Yeah.”

 

Armin walked over to him and looked up with a concerned look- he noticed Eren was gripping the cell phone a little tighter.

 

“I know I haven’t been all week. I’ll go twice next week, alright?” Eren said, aggravated.

 

“Why haven’t you gone? What could be more important than your health, Eren?” Carla prattled on.

 

“Mom, I’m at a friends house okay?” Eren muttered.

 

“I hope you’ll be back in time for classes. You know… you know I’m just worried, sweetheart. Please go to your classes, you've been making great progress.”   
  
“Doesn’t matter, I’ll be home tomorrow. I don’t plan on missing any school, okay? Yeah, I-“ Eren paused, he noticed that Armin was holding his hand. It was… comforting. Eren felt like he was able to breathe again. Sometimes he got so frustrated- so angry, but Armin… Armin was completely diffusing it… diffusing him.

 

“Hey, mom? I’m sorry for getting worked up. It was irresponsible- I should have gone earlier in the week. But I do mean it when I say I’ll go twice next week.”

 

“Thank you, honey. I trust you. Have fun, okay? Be safe. Bye.” Carla said, and ended the call with a click.

 

“Sorry, that was my mother.” Eren mumbled, his face was a little flushed feeling a bit embarrassed. He had never told Armin about his anger management classes or that he even had a problem with anger.

 

Armin stroked the back of Eren’s hand with his thumb and looked up at him, “Is everything all right?” he asked.

 

Eren hesitated for a moment and looked away. What would Armin think of him? Finding out about his anger issues? Would he want him to leave? Not talk to him anymore? No… Armin wasn’t like that. But Armin was already so timid and sweet and he didn’t want him to have to put up with his problems.

 

But Armin had trusted Eren with meeting his parents. So maybe he could trust him too…

 

“Well… I…” Eren paused and exhaled slowly, practicing one of the techniques that had had helped calm him in the past. He felt a little clearer now.

 

He lead Armin over to his own bed and sat down. Armin was still holding his hand gently. He looked up at Eren as if waiting for him to speak.

 

“I attend anger management class once a week.” Eren confessed. “You trusted me… so I…I think… No. I _know_ I can trust you too.”

 

“I’m glad you trust me.” Armin said lacing his fingers through Eren’s. He then proceeded to rest his head against Eren’s shoulder.

 

“What triggers your anger?” Armin asked next.

 

“Frustration mostly. Not being able to get a word in during conversations or having trouble trying to express what I want to say… I’ve been doing a lot better so I don’t want you to worry about being around me.” Eren admitted.

 

“Thanks for telling me all this Eren.” Armin said.

 

~

 

“Hey,” Erwin began, he was laying in bed watching TV while Levi got changed into his pajamas, “You don’t think they’ll-“

 

“Erwin Smith, you better not finish that sentence.” Levi threatened, pulling on his pajama bottoms. He proceeded to button up his pajama shirt as he glared at his husband.

“I don’t get how you can act all nonchalant about this.”

 

“He’s eighteen, we need to let him live. If we don’t let him do some stuff he’s going to end up resenting us.” Erwin said, sitting up as Levi climbed into the bed.

 

“I will never be comfortable with my son having sex, especially under our roof.” Levi said.

 

Erwin turned to look at the smaller man, his eyes widening, “Sex? I was going to ask you if you don’t think they would get into the freezer and eat all my peanut butter ice cream.”

 

“God, you’re such a liar.” Levi said with an eye roll. Erwin decided to be a little more serious considering how distressed Levi was over this whole situation.

 

“Listen. We have to trust him. Armin said he’s better, the doctor said he’s doing better… and it’s good for him to be around people, have friends, boyfriends, girlfriends…” Erwin said.

 

“You’re right.” Levi said, begrudgingly. “Guess you’re not just a pretty face, but you’ve got some brains too, huh?”

 

“Is that why you married me? Just for my looks?”

 

Levi shrugged and laid down, turning on his side.

 

“I don’t think so.” Erwin said, beginning to tickle Levi’s sides.

 

“Oh my god, Erwin.” Levi said trying not to laugh. “Tickling is so unfair, you’re not ticklish at all!”

 

“It’s only unfair from your end then.” Erwin decided.

 

~

 

Before Armin could ask Eren if he wanted to share the bed or if he wanted a sleeping bag or something- the two boys had found each other lying down on Armin’s bed talking into the wee hours of the morning.

 

About everything.

 

“So, are you going to spend the weekend at my house next?” Eren asked.

 

Armin grinned, “Maybe.”

 

Eren was lying on his side, cradling his face in the palm of his hand, while his free arm was just resting on his hip.

 

Armin was resting his head on his arm and his free hand was resting on the comforter.

 

“My mom would like you, so would my step father.” Eren decided.

 

“Really?” Armin said, and then he yawned.

 

Eren chuckled, “You should get some rest.”

 

“I want to talk to you some more.” Armin said drowsily.

 

“I’ll still be here when you wake up.” Eren said taking Armin’s hand in his own.

 

Armin smiled at that, and the two eventually fell asleep holding hands.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another kind of boring filler chapter (well, actually the conversation between erwin and levi is pretty important), but I hope you like the fluff! (mostly hand holding, but come on hand holding is adorable)  
> BTW- I'm all caught up on the manga so I'm trying to make them seem more in character. 
> 
> I think this is how they would act if they weren't upset and traumatized by all the titans and stuff and if they lived in the modern world and all that. And obviously I've aged them up too… so yeah. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy my interpretations of these characters is the bottom line I suppose!


	6. Procrastination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren and Armin are busy with midterms and Eren procrastinates- but not with studying...

When Eren awoke, it took him a moment to realize he wasn’t in his dorm room, but he was in a different bed, a comfortable bed, the walls were covered with posters of various movies, like _Napoleon Dynamite_ and there was even a poster from that Disney movie, _Brave_. Eren smirked, he made a mental note to offer some Disney suggestions the next time him and Armin watched a movie.

 

He was alone, but he heard the shower in Armin’s bathroom, and assumed that’s where Armin was. Eren turned on his side and reached for his cell phone, seeing that he had some texts from Mikasa.

 

 **Yesterday** 10:01 

 _Mikasa said,  
_ Hey, I’m sorry about what happened. I hope we can talk it out later.

Eren sighed. He really felt bad. He quickly sent off a quick reply, letting Mikasa know where he was and that he would be home this evening to talk. He didn’t know if she was worrying or concerned with where he was, but he figured she should know where he was.

When Armin came out of the bathroom, he had on a light green polo and dark blue jeans, his hair was in a loose bun on the top of his head. Eren groaned. Not because he was turned on- he was- but that’s not why. He wanted to see what Armin’s hair looked like when it was down. Not tied up, not tied back, just down. He wondered how far it went. Did it reach his shoulders? Maybe, just lightly brushing them?

“Everything okay, Eren?” Armin asked curiously.

Eren then realized that he really had groaned aloud and just coughed awkwardly, as he sat up in bed, “Uh, yeah… I… just tired you know.” He said quickly.

“You can use the shower now if you want.” Armin nodded. “I’ll go get some clothes for you.”

Originally, Eren was just going to wear what he had worn yesterday, but Armin insisted it wasn’t a big deal for him to borrow a change of clothes, or even keep them. There were a lot of clothes around here.

Instead of arguing with pretty blue eyes, Eren just agreed.

 

~

A black long sleeved shirt and blue jeans were what Armin had left on the bed for Eren to wear. He had to admit, they were a good fit and they looked pretty damn good on him too.

He figured Armin must have gone downstairs, so he slipped his cell phone in his back pocket and left the room.

Armin was sitting at the table eating cereal, across the table from him was a bowl filled with cereal and the milk was beside it so he could pour it in when he was ready.

“I put some cereal out for you, but if you don’t want it we have poptarts too.” Armin said.

“No, cereal is good.” Eren smiled, taking a seat. “Where are your parents?” he asked as he poured his milk.

“Upstairs, still I think.” Armin shrugged. “When should we leave?”

“It’s up to you. I have evening classes tomorrow, so if we leave a little late it’s not a big deal.” Eren told him between mouthfuls of cereal.

“I have a midterm tomorrow, maybe in an hour?” Armin suggested.

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

It was about 11:00am right now. Eren liked sleeping in, he never really got the chance to back on campus. Either his roommate was too loud or their neighbours were.

They ate in silence for a bit, and Armin fiddled with the radio, constantly changing it to a different station each time a song ended. Eren thought it was cute.

Erwin entered the kitchen, looking tired and rather grumpy.

 

“What time are you two thinking of heading out?” Erwin asked.

 

“In an hour.” Armin said.

 

“All right. I’ll let your father know.” Erwin said, with a yawn. “Armin would you mind making some tea?”

 

“Okay.” Armin said, getting up and heading over to their Tassimo. He didn’t mind brewing tea, but using the Tassimo was ten times easier and ten times faster.

 

Levi came downstairs shortly after, and Armin placed the tea at the table. Levi looked even grumpier than Erwin did. He wondered what they were so upset over.

 

“Leaving pretty early.” Levi said, taking a seat beside Eren, and Erwin sat beside Armin stirring his tea absentmindedly.

 

“I have a midterm tomorrow.” Armin reiterated.

 

“Alright. Good luck.” Levi said, meeting his son’s eyes.

 

 An hour later, they were ready to leave. They had spent it just talking about school and future plans with Levi and Erwin. Eren told them he didn’t plan in being in school long, and wanted to run his own business. Only problem was he didn’t know what kind of business to run.

 

Armin was content with where he was, and wasn’t 100% sure what he was going to do later on.

 

“Bye Papa, bye Dad.” Armin said, giving both his parents a hug.

 

“It was nice to meet you both.” Eren said with a smile.

 

“It was nice meeting you too Eren. You should come by again.” Erwin suggested.

 

“Yeah.” Levi agreed halfheartedly.

 

They headed out to the car and Armin had decided he would drive them home, since it would only be fair.

 

“I owe you for this.” Armin said with a smile.

 

“No, you don’t. If you told me to jump in a river, I probably would have done it.”  Eren shrugged.

 

Armin laughed, “I didn’t know I had that kind of power.”

 

“Well, you do.” Eren said sincerely. “Listen, I lied earlier.”

 

“Hm?” Armin asked, glancing at Eren for a moment before returning his eyes to the road.

 

“I’m not twenty, I’m nineteen. I’m not sure why I said I was twenty.” Eren said rubbing the back of his neck.

 

Armin laughed aloud, “So I’ll be your age soon. I turn nineteen in November.”

 

“You’re not mad?” Eren said softly.

 

“No. My dad is intimidating. Well, both of them are- but Papa more so. You’re the best guest I’ve had at the house in a long time. Most people don’t take it so well.”

 

“But I’m not most people.” Eren said with a triumphant grin.

 

“No… No you’re not.” Armin agreed softly.

 

~

 

Armin dropped Eren off at his residence and then headed home. Promising to text him once he got home- per their routine.

 

When Eren reached his dorm, he called Mikasa. “Hey, Mikasa. If you’re not busy, want to go get some lunch or something?”

 

“Sure, I’ll meet you at Starbucks, I’m walking by there right now.” She said.

 

When Eren got there, he saw his sister sitting by herself, looking out the window.

He quickly ordered a hot chocolate and a bagel and then went and joined her.

 

“Hey.” Eren said, immediately biting into his bagel.

 

“Jean and I are seeing each other, but it’s nothing serious.” Mikasa said. That was like her- blunt and to the point.

 

“I’m not seeing Armin.” Eren said.

 

At this Mikasa laughed. Eren’s face remained stoic as he took a sip of his drink.

 

“You’re serious? I’ve seen the way you look at him. Have you guys spoken about dating? Or actually gone on a date?” Mikasa asked curiously.

 

“We hang out a lot, but I think it’s as friends. We’ve held hands and sometimes flirt but…” Eren shrugged.

 

 “You should invite him to Connie and Sasha’s Halloween Party.” Mikasa suggested. “Ask him as your date though.” She clarified.

 

“I guess, I could try doing that.” Eren agreed. “I’m assuming you and Jean are going together?” Eren asked.

 

“Yeah, I’m going as catwoman and he’s going as batman.” Mikasa said.

 

“You guys are such losers.” Eren said with a laugh.

 

Mikasa offered a small smile, “Shut up. I’m sure you want to coordinate with Armin.”

 

Eren smiled, glad their spat had been worked out. They headed to Mikasa’s dorm after and watched some TV before Eren decided he should probably head to the gym.

 

While working out, Eren tried to figure out how to ask Armin to go to the party with him.

 

Later, when he was walking home he started brainstorming.

 

That night after brushing his teeth and heading to bed, he laid awake trying to find the right words.

 

The next day while walking to class he tried to think of a romantic yet non-mushy way to ask him out.

 

Because of midterms, Eren and Armin hadn’t gotten a chance to see each other all that often, but they texted and called each other nearly everyday. Then suddenly it was October 30th, and Eren realized this was now or never. He also realized that Armin could have made other Halloween plans.

 

“I’m so fucked.” Eren muttered as he texted Armin asking to meet up with him. He was finally going to ask him out. This could end wonderfully or terribly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes! This was the build up to a Halloween themed chapter! So another update will be out on Friday!


	7. Halloween

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren asks Armin out… kind of. Armin and Mikasa make a deal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this is so late. I hope you enjoy it and that it was somewhat worth the wait. I didn't edit it, but I will before I post the next chapter. I'm hoping I'm able to update more regularly, but I don't want to make anymore promises like last time! 
> 
> Sorry again, and enjoy!

Eren had his cell phone pressed to his ear, and he felt like this was the longest ringing he had ever heard in his life.

 

“Hello?”  


Eren felt like he could finally exhale. “Armin.” He breathed out.

 

“Eren?” Armin asked.

 

“Yeah, sorry. Hi.” Eren said a little nervously.

 

“What are you up to? You don’t really sound like yourself.” Armin said with a small laugh.

 

How did he usually sound? Probably more confident than this. The two of them were silent on the line for a moment. Armin awaiting Eren’s reply, and Eren awaiting his brain’s response to Armin.

 

“I’m sorry. Uh, do you know who Sasha and Connie are?” Eren asked suddenly.

 

“Oh, Sasha Blouse? We’re in the same English class. We’ve gone to the same study group a few times actually.” Armin said. “Connie is her boyfriend, right?”

 

“Yeah, they’re actually having a Halloween Party tomorrow night.” Eren said.

 

“Yeah, Sasha has been talking about it the last few days. In our tutorial today she invited everyone and told us how her and Connie rented a space for it at a hotel or something. So if people are drinking they can just spend the night in one of the hotel rooms.”

 

“Are you going?” Eren asked.

 

“To the party? I was thinking of maybe stopping in for a few minutes. What about you?” Armin asked slowly.

 

“Yeah, I was… I was going to ask you if you wanted to go together.” Eren said.

 

“That sounds great! I think it’ll be way more fun if we go together. Who are you dressing up as?” Armin asked.

 

He hadn’t made it sound like a date had he? Or did he? He wasn’t sure, but he was glad that he and Armin would be going together either way. He felt like he should say something like “it’s a date”, but figure that might be too lame.

 

“I have no idea.” Eren said. “What about you?”

 

“Not sure. How about we get together and start planning what to wear before all the costume stores close?” Armin suggested.

 

“Sounds good to me.”

 

Eren insisted that he would ride his bike over to Armin’s grandfather’s house, considering that Armin was closer to the stores. Armin had insisted it wasn’t a big deal for him to pick up Eren, but Eren was insistent. Plus- he needed some time to calm down and also to call Mikasa and let her know what had happened.

 

When he spoke with Mikasa he could tell she was rolling her eyes.

 

“Just ask him if it’s a date or not. Or clarify that you want it to be a date.” Mikasa said.

 

“I need to ride over to his house now, but come over tonight and we’ll talk then, okay?” Eren said.

 

“Yeah, I’ll text you. Have fun with Armin.” Mikasa said.

 

“Thanks. Have fun with Jean.” Eren said, teasingly. She could insist it wasn’t serious all she wanted; he was still going to annoy the crap out of both of them.

 

“Eren-“ She began, but he had already hung up.

 

~

 

“Hey.” Eren said as Armin opened the door.

 

“Hi.” Armin said smiling at him. Eren had this urge to hug him or touch his face or something like that but decided against it and they just kind of stood there awkwardly looking at each other. Why did a few weeks feel like forever? He was in too deep with this kid and he couldn’t even ask him out on a proper date.

 

“Listen, I don’t know if you’d be completely down for it…” Armin said, as he broke the silence ushering Eren in to his home, “But I do have those headband things, I have devil horns and a halo one. So, what would you like to be? An angel or a devil?”

 

Eren grinned mischievously at Armin, “I think we both know the answer to that.”

 

So they had decided Eren would be going as a devil, wearing his devil horns and a red shirt and black jeans probably. Armin would go as an angel, wearing a white shirt and black jeans. Sure it was cliché, but that’s what happened when you waited until literally the last minute to get a Halloween costume.

 

In Armin’s room, he laid out his clothes and they kind of just basked in silence, enjoying their time together. Sometimes no words are needed- is what Eren was learning. Sometimes just being around someone you cared about was enough.

 

Armin came and sat beside Eren on the bed. “We shouldn’t do that again.” Armin said quietly.

 

“Shouldn’t do what?” Eren asked hesitantly, turning to look at him.

 

“Not see each other for like three weeks. I think it was three weeks anyways.” Armin said with a small, nervous laugh.

 

“I agree.” Eren said. And this time he was the one who reached out for Armin’s hand and held it carefully. “I should head home and get my clothes out for the party and maybe do some homework.”

 

“Are you sure?” Armin asked.

 

“Yeah. I’ll pick you up at 6pm tomorrow.” Eren decided, as he stood up letting go of Armin’s hand.

 

 

~

 

 Eren couldn’t wait for his classes to end. He wanted to go home and get ready for his maybe date with Armin. He also was excited to see all of the costumes that everyone would be wearing. Especially Mikasa and Jean. He thought they would look like the biggest idiots ever.

 

But when he arrived to his dorm room, he came to the realization they might just win best costume.

 

“How the hell are your costumes just like the ones in the movie?” Eren said exasperated.

 

Mikasa smiled, putting on her mask and Jean just grinned triumphantly. “We bought the materials and Marco sewed them. Nice, huh?”

 

Mikasa’s smile faltered softly at his words, but then she decided to change the direction of the conversation. Typical Mikasa.

 

“What are you and Armin going as?”

 

“We’re going as-“ But Eren was cut off as Jean interrupted him.

 

“Armin? Like Armin Arlert?” Jean said.

 

“Yes… Please tell me you’re not his ex or something.” Eren muttered.

 

“No, he used to tutor me. He’s really great at it. He wants to go into photography or journalism, but he’d make an amazing teacher.” Jean said confidently. “Anyways, I should head over to Connie and Sasha’s and start helping them set up.”

 

Jean pressed a quick kiss to Mikasa’s cheek and left.

 

“You guys really don’t look all that couple-y.” Eren said, looking at Mikasa. “Is everything okay?”

 

“Yeah.” Mikasa answered, but her face hardly ever faltered that Eren could never be sure if she was telling the truth. He had to take her word for it.

 

“How are you getting to the party?” Eren asked.

 

“I thought I was going with Jean, but I guess not.” Mikasa shrugged.

 

“Come with me and Armin then.” Eren suggested.

 

“No, it’s fine. You guys should have some time alone.” Mikasa said.

 

“We’ll all take a taxi together, it’s not a big deal Mikasa.”

 

She nodded, and smiled at Eren softly. There was nothing else to say on the subject, so Eren called Armin and asked if he could meet them at his dorm. Eren didn’t want to, he wish he could go pick him up, but Armin said that it was completely fine with him.

 

~

 

The three of them sat in the taxi, rather awkwardly, with Eren between them. Mikasa leaned forward and turned so she could look at Armin. “So, Armin. What are you and my brother?”

 

Armin let out a kind of nervous noise in the back of his throat and offered a small smile, “Um… friends?” It was more of a question than anything and Mikasa wasn’t swayed.

 

Eren looked at Mikasa, wishing she’d back off him, she’d even admitted to liking Armin saying he seemed kind, so why was she harassing him now? Maybe because Eren had never officially said that what they were on was a date or that he wanted it to be. He didn’t have time to mull over it because they had arrived.

 

“Mikasa likes you.” Eren said, as Mikasa strolled towards the hotel, glancing at her phone as she did so.

 

“It doesn’t really seem like it.” Armin said quietly.

 

“She’s not really good at showing it. She’s just curious about what your intentions with me are.” Eren teased.

 

“My intentions with you?” Armin said with a small laugh. “She sounds like my dad.”

 

“Which one?” Eren asked, but he already had a hunch.

 

“Levi.” Armin smirked.

 

“I had a feeling you might say that.”

 

They followed Mikasa from a distance as she was now on the phone talking. Jean or Connie or someone was probably giving her directions. Finally they had reached and elevator and were taking it to the… penthouse of the hotel? That was weird. That would be crazy expensive. He figured that Connie and Sasha must have both paid and also begged their parents to pitch in what they lacked.

 

Needless to say, it would probably be a good party.

 

Mikasa got off the phone and glanced at Armin and Eren with a small smile. “You two look cute.”

 

“Shut up.” Eren shot back. “Is that supposed to be sarcastic? Because you and Jean are obviously going to win the costume contest.”

 

“I don’t know, I heard Sasha and Connie’s outfits are really great. Connie is wearing a wig.”

 

The elevator ride ended and they stepped out, amazed by how beautiful the penthouse was. There was a table near the left wall, filled with food, plates, and cutlery. A couch faced opposite the clear windows, and there was a door that leads out to the balcony.  The floor was a dark brown, which Eren thought was great considering the group of people that would be here tonight- messy. The walls were a light beige but because of the lights that lined the wall they were tinted a gold. The chairs and couches were a pale gold colour as well.

 

Sasha ran over, she was clad in a black outfit, akin to Mikasa’s, but not as risqué. She had a bow slung around her and her hair was braided. It wasn’t hard to tell who she was.

 

“Katniss Everdeen.” Armin said with a smile.

 

“Yes!” Sasha yelled, “I’m so glad you got it! I was worried no one would!”

 

“How could I not, those books are amazing.” Armin gushed.

 

 _What a cute little nerd,_ Eren mused to himself.

 

“Connie!” Sasha called, “Eren, Mikasa and Armin are here.”

 

Connie was standing near the bathroom talking to Jean and he waved as he walked over, Jean following him.

 

Jean pressed a quick kiss to Mikasa's a cheek. 

 

“Batman and Cat Woman… Aw man, Connie- we should have done that.” Sasha said.

 

“You wanted me to be this bread man.” Connie said, adjusting his wig.

 

“Oh, Connie- you read the books too?” Mikasa asked.

 

“What? Isn’t it a movie?” Connie questioned.

 

“Yeah, based off of books.”

 

While Connie processed this new knowledge, Sasha ushered them all inside and gestured to the areas. It was pretty much food to the left, balcony, lounging to the right and possible dancing in the middle of the room.

 

Connie and Sasha decided to go wait by the door for more people, and the rest of them decided to go get food.

 

They piled their plates with junk food and candy as Sasha assured them that she would order pizza and fries and an array of other food later.

 

As they stood near the table in an awkward trance, Jean decided to break the silence.

 

“Armin, I haven’t seen you in a long time.” He said.

 

“It’s nice to see you again, Jean. My parents have asked how you’ve been.” Armin replied with a small smile.

 

“Tell them I’ve been good.” Jean said with a grin. “So, what’s the deal with you and Eren? Hm?”

 

“Oh, we met at a coffee shop.” Armin said with a smile. “It was the night of the school dance.” He explained.

 

“Yeah… ok- I meant what’s the deal with how he’s looking at you. Like he’s undressing you with his eyes or something.”

 

Armin’s eyes widened, and he met Eren’s for a moment and then broke eye contact.

 

Mikasa sent Jean a warning glare, but Eren was quick to punch Jean in the arm. “Shut up, idiot.”  


“I’m the idiot? It’s plain as day and anyone can see it. If you want me to beat up Eren, you just let me know, okay Armin?” Jean said sincerely. Before Armin could reply, they heard more people come in and among them was Marco. “Hey, Mikasa let’s go say hi to Marco.”

 

“Yes, I think we should thank him for helping out with the costumes again, after all.” Mikasa said dryly.

 

Eren couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or if she genuinely was going to tell him thank you for what had to be the tenth time.

 

The two left and Armin was blushing madly.

 

“I’m sorry, Armin. I… You don’t believe him right?” Eren asked softly.

 

“You do look at me a lot… the look you give me- I wouldn’t call it ‘undressing me with your eyes’ but…” Armin trailed off, wondering if his face could burn any redder.

 

Eren gulped, he put his plate of candy down, suddenly not in the mood for it. Then he thought better of wasting candy and put the wrapped ones in the pockets of his jeans.

 

“You look at me… like I’m something precious.” Armin said, not looking up at Eren.

 

“That’s because you are.”

 

At those words, Armin looked up at Eren sheepishly, the hint of a smile on his lips. There was more Armin wanted to say- to ask, but they were interrupted by a barrage of people coming in. People who wanted to talk about Armin’s thesis for his history paper or ask Eren if he was planning on joining any more of the school teams.

 

In between the questions and people subtly and sometimes not so subtly asking Armin for homework help, Armin couldn’t help but wonder where Eren was. He secretly wished the party were smaller, so that they could each speak to a few people and find each other again.

 

But Armin smiled and spoke to people and took pictures with some people. His parents would be proud of how sociable he was being. When he got a chance to be alone he went out on the balcony for some fresh air and saw Mikasa. She was standing near the railing, her arms resting comfortably on it, he decided that maybe he would go say hi, try to make a good impression or a better one than before.

 

But when he came up beside her, he saw the smudged eyeliner and the tissue she clutched ever so tightly.

 

“Armin,” Mikasa said, trying to compose herself for a brief moment before quitting, “I… I didn’t even hear you.”

 

“I’m sorry.” Armin said, not wanting to intrude. “I can leave if you want.”

 

“No, you can stay. Not into parties are you?” Mikasa said.

 

“Yeah, not really. I thought it would be fun, but after the first hour I’m usually ready to call it a night.”

 

“I told myself I’d be more outgoing, and do better- make more friends.” Mikasa said softly. “I don’t think I’m doing the best job.”

 

“Is everything okay?” Armin asked.

 

“I know you’re friends with Jean…” Mikasa said, “But he’s kind of a jerk.”

 

“He can be sometimes… but I thought you two were seeing each other.”

 

“I… I think he’s seeing someone else. Or at least wants to. I feel like I’m just there to pick up his self-esteem or something. Whenever he needs to feel good about himself he comes to me.” Mikasa said, rubbing the rest of her eyeliner off.

 

“Break up with him… if he makes you feel that way- you shouldn’t give him the satisfaction.” Armin said.

 

“That was very direct. I’m impressed. You seem kind of reserved.” Another trait they shared- their bluntness.

 

“When it comes to important situations like this, that involve your feelings, I think it’s always best to be honest. I wouldn’t be a good friend if I wasn’t honest.” Armin said.

 

“I agree. Let’s make a deal. I’ll be honest with Jean about how I feel- and you be honest with Eren about how you feel.” Mikasa said.

 

Armin stared at her, shocked for a moment.

 

“You two are cute, I meant what I said earlier. And I can tell you two really care about each other. I may not have been completely asleep that night I came over when you two were watching super hero movies in Eren’s dorm.” Mikasa confessed.

 

“Okay, it’s a deal then.” Was all Armin could get out, as he held out his pinky finger for Mikasa to latch on to with hers. She did, and a small smile graced her lips.

 

“Here, let’s exchange numbers.” Mikasa suggested. They did so, and Mikasa smiled again. “I’ll talk to you later, I’m going to go hang out with Sasha. I’ll text you when I’ve talked to Jean.” Mikasa promised.

 

“Okay.” Armin nodded.

 

“It was nice talking to you.” She said, her tone was genuine.

 

Armin smiled softly to himself, looking out at the night sky. Remembering when he was young and every year his Papa would make him a great costume, of anything he asked. Dragon, Princess, Figure Skater… whatever his little mind wanted. Dad would always take a ton of pictures; read him a scary story before bed on Halloween even though Papa would be furious with Erwin for doing so.

 

He was glad he would be seeing them on the weekend. Occasions like this made him wish he had gone to the school back at home, instead of wanting to go to Trost. But Trost was an amazing school. His thoughts were interrupted as someone joined him on the balcony.

 

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” Eren said, gripping the railing with his hands, and turning to look at Armin.

 

“Sorry, needed to get out of there for a minute. It was getting kind of crowded.”

 

“I’m sorry we didn’t get to spend that much time together here.” Eren said admitted. 

 

“It’s okay. We can always make up for it this weekend.” Armin suggested.

 

“Yeah? What did you have in mind? As long as it’s better than this, I’m game.” Eren said with a grin.

 

“I’m visiting my parents again this weekend, but I kind of want to hang out before I go.” Armin said. “So could we go for breakfast together?”

 

“Yeah, of course.” Eren said with a smile.

 

“You know we’re going for ice cream right?” Armin asked.

 

“I wouldn’t expect anything else.” Eren teased.

 

“Hey, listen- let’s get a photo together. I’m a photographer and I have no photos of us.”

 

Eren laughed as Armin took his cell phone out of his pocket and got close to Eren. Eren put his arm around him as if on instinct and Armin outstretched his arm to take a picture of the two of them smiling.

 

An angel and a devil were an unlikely match, but they sure were a great one. 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
